I’m a sucker for Tauruses.
Guys born under the sign of the Bull just do it for me: they’re strong and sturdy and steady, even-tempered lovers of life. Cancer girls like me are astrologically compatible with them, as they enjoy the comforts of home that we can provide. They’re creative and loyal and funny, and if you’re a Taurus reading this now, you can find me on MySpace AND Facebook!
They also have Derby Birthdays! Not all of them were actually born on Derby day of their birth year, but they share a date with many winners in history. Here are a few of my favorite Men of the Derby!
H.B. — May 1 — I knew this guy in high school. Quiet, geeky, liked to listen to Metallica. He was born on Derby Day in 1982, when the grey Gato Del Sol swooped around the field in the slop to win for Arthur Hancock’s Stone Farm. Don’t know what he’s up to these days, as I haven’t Facebooked him. Yet. May 1 was also the date of the Derby wins of two Triple Crown winners, Count Fleet in ’43 and Citation in ’48. I realized H.B. had a Derby birthday in 1999, when we were both in 11th grade. I had gotten a serious case of Derby Fever and could not stop talking about the Baffert trio of Prime Timber, Excellent Meeting, and “Rhodman”, AKA General Challenge. He got tired of me going on and on about the horses one day, saying, “When will this be OVER?!”
I said to him, “The first Saturday in May!”
“That’s my birthday.”
“Sweet! We can watch the race at your party!”
“Um, You can watch the race at Your party.”
Charismatic won the Derby that year. I didn’t talk to H.B. much after that.
C.S.– May 7 — I met C.S. in college sophomore year and spent the rest of my time at UM chasing him around. He was really tall, had sparkling blue eyes like Hawaiian beachfront, and was a trivia nut. I learned early on that he had a Derby birthday and spent scads of time filling him in on the particulars: Behave Yourself and Burgoo King, Col. Bradley’s pair from the 30s; Ponder, winner in ’49 sired by Derby winner Pensive and sire of ’56 winner Needles; Swaps, the California wonder. He actually remembered watching the 1994 Derby on TV because rain kept his party inside — I was always excited to remind him that I had “met” that year’s winner, Go For Gin, at a recent Kentucky trip. Seattle Slew is the only TC winner I have seen in person, and his Derby was on May 7, 1977, another thing I probably talked about too much.
C.S. graduated 2 years before me, but I kept up correspondence with him for a little while. In 2005, I went to the Infield for the very first time. It was a dream come true, all 12 hot, sweaty, julipy, messy hours of it. Giacomo won at 50-1. That year’s Derby was on May7. I hope that some of that Derby ephemera I incessantly quoted to C.S. stuck somewhere in his memory, and I sometimes think of him winning a Trivia Bowl by correctly answering “Who won the 1988 Kentucky Derby?*”
F.L. — May 11 — I hated F.L. when I first met him. He was too overbearing, had a penchant for telling ridiculous lies, and could be entirely too goofy at times. But as I got to know him, I realized just how misunderstood he was. I found out he had a May 11 birthday and thought he may have a Preakness winner or two. But delving into the stats, I discovered that F.L. shared a Derby with a few early winners, like 1887 victor Montrose and 1892 winner Azra. But he also shares a Derby with Exterminator, the 1918 longshot winner who became a national hero. Exterminator got the nickname “Old Bones” because of his coarse, angular frame, and raced only 4 times at 2 before becoming a workout mate to W. Kilmer’s champion 2yo Sun Briar. Unfortunately, Sun Briar developed problems that kept himout of the Derby, and Kilmer reluctantly entered Exterminator. The big brown gelding had not raced at all prior to the Derby, but he was well-conditioned after running alongside the champ for so long. He ran away from the field in the stretch and won by a length, redeeming his supporters and horse-laughing in the face of his detractors. F.L. has a lot in common with Old Bones, except I’d probably call him Honeybun (his girth would probably compare to the horse’s).
I’ve been talking F.L.’s ear off about Derby 135 for months. He’s probably glad the race is 4 days away — he needs his ear back.
ETA: *Winning Colors, May 7, 1988!
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